Straddling the Line(69)

Obviously not ready to back down yet, Warrell lifted his chin. “I’ll get there. Once I learn all the plays, I’ll give you a run.”

Trevor grinned. “Well, you can try.”

“Hey, you’ll be off playing baseball, and I’ll be here soaking up all the limelight and stealing the starting tight end spot right out from under you.”

“Sure, kid. You keep thinking that.”

Yeah, he had a chip all right. Trevor would keep working on him. He’d come around.





TWENTY-FIVE





HAVEN SHOULD HAVE KNOWN TREVOR WOULD OWN two houses.

Why she expected he’d have some condo here in Tampa she didn’t know, but that was what she’d anticipated when she plugged his address into the GPS of her rental car. Instead, she ended up here at the water’s edge on the other side of Tampa, in Clearwater.

The views of the water as she’d driven along were gorgeous. The sun hit the bay, glinting like blue diamonds. What she wouldn’t give to live in a place like this. She’d grown up in Oklahoma, where there were plenty of lakes to hang out at in the summer, but nothing like this kind of water with endless views. She wished she hadn’t been driving, so she could have gawked more.

She’d always loved the water. So had her dad. She and her parents would take the boat out onto the lake in the summer. God, that had been fun when she was a kid.

She pulled up in front of the house. It nestled against the water, so the location was perfect, but still, she’d expected something entirely different for Trevor.

This place was not at all like the grand old mansion–type house he owned in St. Louis, either.

This was a baby blue frame house with white shutters. An older home, it looked a little run-down, but wow, the views of the water were spectacular. And she’d only seen the front.

Trevor had given her a set of keys at practice and told her to let herself in and make herself at home.

Actually, she’d planned to stay at a hotel, but hell, she’d missed him, and he said there was a guest house if she really wanted to stay in that, but there were also two guest bedrooms on a separate floor from the master as well.

What she really wanted was to stay in his room.

In his bed.

She’d figure all that out later. She stuck her key in the door and opened it.

Uh, wow. The inside was totally different from the outside.

Like . . . night-and-day different. There were dark wood floors all through the house, and as she made her way through the foyer, she stopped to take in the open-concept floor space, which opened up the entire downstairs, from the kitchen all the way through the spacious dining room and into the huge family room. There were floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the deck and the water. She went to the doors and saw a pool and a boat dock.

“Amazing,” she said to herself, then turned and went into the kitchen, which she was certain was larger than her old apartment back in Dallas. Stainless-steel appliances filled the space, along with beautiful maple cabinetry, and, as she ran her fingertips over the gorgeous granite countertops, she wondered if she could just hang out in the kitchen the entire time she was here. It was a cook’s paradise, and she’d love to cook on that amazing stove.

She continued the tour into the next room, which was a workroom, complete with a built-in wall desk that ran along all four walls.

She went outside, grabbed a suitcase, and rolled it up to the second floor.

Uh, wow. Each bedroom was huge, but she took the one with the view of the water. She didn’t want to make presumptions. Maybe Trevor didn’t want her in his bedroom, and she wasn’t about to make that decision without his input.

Besides, this room was awesome.

She stepped outside the room and saw stairs leading to a third level, so she wandered up. The door was shut and she assumed it was Trevor’s room. She felt weird about invading his privacy without him being there, so she went back to the other level.

Not that she had any complaints, since the bedroom she’d chosen was plenty big enough for her, and also had a walk-out deck overlooking the water, and an oversized bathroom. She’d definitely enjoy that room.

She dragged her other suitcase upstairs and unpacked. Since she had no idea what time Trevor would be back, she decided she might as well make herself at home. She changed into her swimsuit, put on her cover-up and slid into her sandals, then grabbed her notebook and went downstairs to browse the kitchen.

She opened the fridge and her eyes widened. Not only was it completely stocked, it was . . . ridiculously organized. Drinks were lined up side by side on the top shelf, juices on one side, milk, beer and soda on the other. Then condiments were loaded in the door, by color or something. Lunchmeats were in color-coded containers. It looked like an OCD paradise in the refrigerator. But it was well stocked with food of all types, plenty to drink, and a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. After familiarizing herself with what was in all the cabinets, she made herself a glass of iced tea, then headed outside onto the deck.